The conference will cover
changes to the planning system,
a look at the financial aspects of development and
an opportunity for you to ask questions and
to discuss with UWE how they can best support community planning groups in the futureread more……..

Please note that booking is essential and that
there is a nominal £5 fee to help with costs.

Notes from NPN quarterly meeting 19-04-12

Introduction:
There would be a Supplementary Planning Document SPD on Housing as part of the Local Development Framework.
Officers are still working up ideas which would inform SPD.
Currently there are informal practice notes on how to implement the housing policies in the Core Strategy which will be superseded by SPD.

Slide 1: The presentation slides set out the current policy background and evidence.

Slide 2: The recent National Planning Policy Framework has not changed the coreguidance.

Slide 5: viability testing was carried out by consultants to set levels of affordable housing

Slide 6: issues to allow officer to assess what is reasonable to ask for in the way of mix of housing types

Slide 7: requirement for all developments to contribute to the mix of housing in the area
Slide 8: The evidence for these policies is presented in the SHMA Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2009 and the SHLAA Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (all available from BCC Local Development Framework webpage)
Slide 9: Evidence of the large number of flats supplied since 2001

Slide 10: Evidence of the high numbers of small units since 2006
Slide 11: Evidence of the loss of family housing since 2001
Slide 12: Evidence of the concentration of HMO Housing in Multiple Occupancy by area

Enforcement:

7 out of 36 Development Management officers are engaged in Enforcement.
The team was one short last year because officer was on secondment to parks department but is now back up to full strength.

There is one team manager, 4 officers doing re-active work and 2 Pro-active work.
The team is focussing on monitoring developments at an earlier stage of construction, rather than waiting for complaints from the community, to avoid developments getting too far advanced before enforcement action is taken.

The team is working with Building Regulations team officers to ensure they are aware of start on site dates.

Enforcement is discretionary so there is no national measurement criteria set.
BCC enforcement approach is to seek to negotiate and, if this is not successful, to serve notice.

Last year, proactive enforcement work was carried out to gather evidence to provide guidance on thedifference between, and how to measure, A1 and A3 use classes

A1 Shops: Use for any of the following puroposes:
a) for the retail sale of goods other than hot food
d) for the sale of sandwiches or other cold food for consumption off the premises

A3 Restaurants and Bars:
A restaurant whose trade is primarily in-house dining but which has ancillary bar use will be in Class A3. Where the pub or bar activity is a minor component of the business and will not affect environmental amenity, it will treated as ancillary to the primary (restaurant) use of the premises. Such matters will be decided on the basis of fact and degree in each case.

This year, a citywide campaign to identify and deal with sites, which are causing harm to
the amenity of the neighbourhood through s215 Notices will be prioritised.
See link